The motorcar industry is facing an ever increasing demand for weight reduction in motor vehicle components for the sake of cutting down fuel consumption and exhaust emissions. In order to reduce the overall weight of the wheel and, in particular of the rotating mass, in recent years different solutions have been proposed. For example, hub bearing assemblies have been proposed, having a rotatable flanged ring composed of two different materials joined together in a single piece. In such rings, a tubular core made of a first, high toughness material, such as bearing grade steel, forms the rolling races; a second lightweight material, such as a lightweight metal, forms the remaining part of the ring, including an outer flange for mounting the wheel. In general, known solutions are affected by relatively high costs with respect to both employed materials and production processes.
EP 1 859 958 A1 discloses a hub having a core of metallic material and a covering body of composite material.
WO 2010/105644 A1 and WO 2010/063299 A1 disclose hubs having a core and a covering body of different metallic materials.
WO 2011/127979 A1 discloses a hub having a core of metallic material and a covering body of reinforced polymer. The core does not extend into the flange of the hub.
WO 2012/003848 A1 discloses a hub having a core and a covering body of different metallic materials. The core does not extend into the flange of the hub.
WO 2012/122993 A1 discloses a hub at least partially formed by metallic lightweight material. Such metallic material comprises a reinforcement fiber.
EP 2 078 619 A1 discloses a spoked hub.
DE 10 2010 048397 A1 discloses a hub wherein at least the flange is of optionally reinforced, plastic material.
EP 2 468 528 A1 discloses a hub having a core of metallic material and a polymeric covering body. The core does not extend into the flange of the hub.